Turning the tables

Ironically, Australia's enthusiasm for buying online from
overseas has led to one of the most significant new store launches
in Sydney: US homewares giant Williams-Sonoma, which opens in Bondi Junction
on 2 May. The multibillion-dollar Williams-Sonoma Inc (WSI) owns
the home furnishings brands Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and
West Elm. But cookware is at the heart of its flagship brand,
Williams-Sonoma, born in 1956 when a man named Chuck Williams began
selling French pots and pans from a tiny hardware shop in Sonoma,
California.

A little over a year ago, WSI began selling online to an
international market. Such was the interest from Australia that the
company chose to open its first retail presence outside North
America here. Its four main brands will each have their own
shopfront and multistorey retail space in Bondi Junction's newly
built Exchange Building.

Williams-Sonoma combines cookware, tableware and food in the
kind of huge, American vein that we haven't seen on our shores
before (think a stylised amalgam of Simon Johnson, Peter's of
Kensington and David Jones's homewares). The distinctive Pottery
Barn aesthetic, meanwhile, has been so pervasive in popular culture
over the past couple of decades that plenty of Australians are
familiar with it. It's a grown-up, polished image of homemaker
perfection embodied in Hollywood rom-coms such as You've Got
Mail or Something's Gotta Give (cue sophisticated
linen sofas, classic standing lamps, artfully cluttered bookcases
and plenty of beige). And West Elm is like Pottery Barn's hip,
design-conscious younger sister: more upmarket than Ikea, more
approachable than Space.

Few are more excited by the group's arrival than WSI's
Australian expats, former magazine editors Anna Last and Vanessa
Holden. Last is creative director for the Williams-Sonoma brand,
while Holden is creative director for West Elm. "Australians have
always been advanced in how we entertain and decorate our houses,"
says Last. "That's why Australians are so attractive over here [in
the US] - we have a different slant. We're good at putting together
an heirloom, granny's china pot, with something we found on a
travel, and something new that we shopped down the street.
Americans like to buy a 'look' and are a little less adventurous,
although that's changing."

That's why West Elm's eclectic approach to decorating is a good
fit for the local market, says Holden. "Australians aren't looking
to create a perfect space, but they're looking to create a personal
one." She singles out West Elm's Emmerson dining table made of
reclaimed pine as a likely hit for the Sydney store, along with
designer collaborations such as Schmidt Brothers knives and Common
Good cleaning products. "And big statement pieces like the chopping
boards for communal entertaining, which for me is what Australian
entertaining is all about: a really casual but artful approach to
the table," she says.

The stove is very much at the centre of Williams-Sonoma, says
Last. "Williams-Sonoma has a rule that you should always walk into
a store and smell something cooking." Along with cooking
demonstrations and tastings, the store will also reflect the
current trend for nostalgic American foods via its waffle mixes and
barbecue rubs. "Those kinds of quirky American things will be fun
for people to try," says Last. She also expects the return to
old-fashioned housekeeping will resonate with Australians, citing
the Agrarian range. The handcrafted beehives, cheesemaking kits and
vertical herb gardens will entice even urban dwellers with tiny
balconies. At the time of writing, it was uncertain how much of
this range would make it across the Pacific, but here's hoping the
DIY tofu and kimchi kits make the cut.